The Feral Pact

as still trembling from the fight, her muscles sore and bloodied from the struggle with the Shade-Wolf, but no

rried centuries of secrets, of knowledge far beyond her understanding. Their skin was pale, almost luminous in the dim light, and their fea

s hoarse, but the command was st

intensity that made her feel as though they were looking straight through her. Fina

do you?" they asked, t

hin her. She didn't recognize this person-there was no way she could. No one had eve

tried to recall the vague sense of familiarity tugg

u were much younger when we last met. But it seems fat

ou?" she repeated, more forcefully t

g the distance between them. "My name is Ka

bout their role in the downfall of her kind, how they had been a group of immortal beings charged with maintaining the balance between the realms of the living and the dea

ense. "You were meant to die, Solara Draven. But your surviva

ck, her fists clenched at her sides. "Wh

t- only something darker. "I was once," he said softly. "But my path has diver

had no idea what he was talking about, could she? But something about his presence felt

. She had heard whispers of it during the hunt, of a dark force rising, threat

ssing his otherwise unreadable face. "The Ebon Blight is only one piece of a

during the older stories, but it was always accompanied by hushed voice

centuries ago by the Packlords, along with the rest of the night creatures. But your bloodline has

r that had decimated her kind. The Shade-Wolves were legends now, barely more

ra whispered, her voice faltering

lood between the oldest of the night creatures. It was meant to ensure balance. But the terms of the Pact have bee

nce bound her now seemed irrelevant, insignificant in the face of something much darker, much older. The ground beneath

g to a whisper. "The last of the Shade-Wolves. And it is

hake off the suffocating weight

t there was no pity in it, only cold resignation. "The clock is tick

tled in her bones. Her survival-her existence isn't just a fluke. It wasn't ju

realized that the fight ahead of her wasn't just for her pac

e came from deeper within the cave. It was a whisper, a h

ess, a voice c

lar

nt a ripple of dread through her. There was something out the

ened. "They've fou